I don't know if it's luck or not, but at work, according to her, she doesn't hang out with anyone, or maybe no one hangs out with her. Her love life is messy, she has a crush but it doesn't lead anywhere, there's a risk of being single. And at home, when she's not home, everything is fine, but when she comes home, it's a heavy meal.
Then one day, I saw her change completely, like a different person. She said: “I have decided, now is the time to change. I will live a… relaxing life. I don’t need much money, I don’t need a lover, I don’t need a car, I don’t care if my colleagues don’t like to hang out with me. That’s the trend of young people nowadays.”
It turns out that there really is such a trend. After reading, I found out that the phrase “chill guy/chill girl” is quite popular among young people of Gen Z, expressing a calm outlook on life, having an optimistic attitude when facing deadlocks and difficulties in life.
The term “chill guy” originated from the description of the character of a brown dog in a painting by American artist Philip Banks with the caption “This is my new character. He is created as a guy who lives a relaxed life and doesn’t care about anything”. The painting of a brown dog with his hands in his pockets and a nonchalant expression became a global phenomenon in November 2024, “causing a storm” on most social media platforms. Young people use the image of the dog with status lines expressing optimism in the face of difficulties.
Initially, the image of the “chill guy” dog was used to talk about love. When it spread to Vietnam, this image was used by young people to express their attitudes when facing pressure at work or school.
Some people think it is a positive trend, it brings balance between life and work, when encountering a difficult problem, they still feel okay, don't care, as long as they feel happy.
It sounds theoretical, but if you just relax, regardless, without trying, without being diligent, hardworking, or working hard, where will you get the money to relax? Or in other words, if your job is unstable and lacking, can you relax?
Of course, in the case of the niece, the change from anger to relaxation was a very happy thing for the family. But the balance here needs to be understood, relaxation is not giving up work, ignoring the people around. Because considering, that relaxation has a very fragile distance from laziness, selfishness for oneself.
